A remote control device may use different technologies to interact with a consumer device. Well-known legacy infrared technology enables the remote control device to control a consumer device. The remote control device has an infrared transmitter to send an infrared signal comprising a command code whereas the consumer device has an infrared receiver to receive the infrared signal and to extract the command code. In response to the command code, the consumer device may perform an action. For example, the consumer device may be a TV and the remote control device is being used by a user to send a command code causing the TV to switch to the next channel or to raise the volume.
Contemporary remote control devices may (also) have a radio-based capability to interact with other devices in the home and to wirelessly download, from a host device, software updates for the remote control device. For example, the radio-based capability may based on ZigBee RF4CE technology (see also a website of ZigBee Alliance: http://www.zigbee.org/Specifications/ZigBeeRF4CE/Overview.aspx, as consulted on 22 May 2014). Software updates typically include firmware for the remote control device, including an up-to-date database of command cedes to interact with various devices. Said wireless downloading and installing of new software is commonly referred to as Over-the-Air Download (OAD). OAD can be used to receive and install software on the remote control device during the production process of the remote control device. A host device may establish a wireless connection with the remote control device, and then wirelessly send the software to the remote control device.
However, installing new software on the remote control in a high-volume production process is still a relatively inefficient process in a production process. This is particularly the case in a high-volume production process, such as a production process of remote control devices, wherein low cost and high speed of production are important. During installation of new software using OAD, the host device and the remote control device need to be shielded from other (remote control) devices in the vicinity in order to prevent interference, for example by using a shielding box. Each of the other remote control devices may be performing its own installation within its own shielding box, being paired with its own host device inside the shielding box. The use of a shielding box for each device performing its own software installation is cumbersome and limits the speed of the production process. Inefficiency of the production process is further aggravated because of the fact that downloading in itself may be a relatively slow process.
Furthermore, the installation process is inefficient in terms of memory (and thus cost), because it requires additional memory during the installation process. Installation of new software requires the remote control device to first download and store the new software in the additional memory, then verify the downloaded software and finally overwrite existing software in the memory of the remote control device. The additional memory is thus used primarily for downloading new software and is largely unused at other times, which makes the use of memory inefficient. Efficient use of memory is of particular importance a high-volume production process of small-memory devices, such as the remote control device, wherein memory size is kept to a minimum to reduce cost and bill-of-material.